Love Me Until My Heart Stops

Placing the last of her things into her bag, Esmé spared a small glance towards the training pitch which was just visible through the window of her office, her dark eyes noting the absence of a certain tall centre back. He tended to stick out, amongst a selection of smaller technical players, Gerard’s taller and slightly awkward frame tended to stick out like a saw thumb, and it wasn’t hard for her to see that he was missing, he had been for a couple of days. She knew that it shouldn’t have bothered her, she was the one who’d decide to take a time out, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t curious. It wasn’t like him, no matter what else was going on, he always put his training first, and she was a little surprised by his absence, but more so by the coach’s indifference towards it. Shaking her head, she lifted her bag onto her shoulder and made a move towards the door, pausing slightly as she spotted her sister in the doorway.

“Eloisa?” she posed “Did I forget we had plans or something?” she quipped, a little confused by her presence.

Eloisa shook her head. “No” she smiled softly “But I have a surprise for you. Are you done here?” she quipped, peeking around the office.

Esmé nodded. “I was on my way out. What sort of surprise couldn’t have waited until I got back to yours?” she posed.

“One that involves a car journey and one of these” Eloisa returned, pulling the blindfold that she had been given out of her bag.

Esmé lifted an eyebrow. “You’re not going to do something horrible to me, are you?” she posed, a little concerned.

Eloisa smiled. “Not at all” she noted “In fact, the surprise I have waiting for you is the precise opposite of horrible” she enthused, leaning over a little so that she could place the blindfold over her sister’s eyes. It had been a surprise for her, Gerard had shown up with little warning when he knew that Esmé wouldn’t be there, but after he’d explained where he’d been, Eloisa hadn’t had much of a choice but to help him. What he’d done by going to London was reaffirm his feelings for Esmé and Eloisa had been more than a little bowled over by the way he spoke. He’d been honest, admitted making mistakes, and Eloisa adored him a little more for it. He’d always been the best fit for her little sister, but it had never been more clear than it was when he’d arrived at her door, wanting to make amends.

“Is it my birthday?” Esmé poked, adjusting the blindfold slightly as Eloisa took a hold of her sleeve.

“No” Eloisa quipped “But you’re about to feel very lucky” she teased.

~#~
“Can I take this ridiculous thing off yet?” Esmé complained as Eloisa steered her up a couple of steps. She was a little irked, she had gotten very little out of her sister in terms of what to expect and it bothered her. Esmé had never liked surprises.

“Not yet” Eloisa replied, tapping on the door of her little sister’s home. She had taken her out of their way, wanting to throw her off of the scent, but she knew that Esmé would be pleased by what awaited her. As much as she tried to fight it, she missed Gerard and the sight of the defender alone would be more than enough to make her forget her impatience and complaining. Offering Gerard a small grin, she steered Esmé into her house before she placed a kiss on her cheek. “You can thank me later” she enthused before she stepped away, leaving her little sister alone with the defender who stared at her, a little awed.

“Eloisa?” Esmé squeaked, her fingers pushing the blindfold off of her eyes.

“She’s gone” Gerard commented.

Esmé whipped around, her dark eyes staring at the defender who smiled back at her. “You’re surprised?” he teased.

Esmé shifted a little. “You’re the big surprise?” she poked a little sheepishly. She didn’t know why she was nervous, it was only Gerard, but she couldn’t shake it. She was nervous that he’d want to start another fight.

Gerard shook his head. “I’m a part of it” he noted “But I think Eloisa was probably referring to this” he commented as he took her hand gently in his, leading her towards their living room. Esmé lifted an eyebrow briefly, but it quickly fell, her dark eyes taking in the scene ahead of her.

“Gerard” she squeaked, her eyes studying the room. The lights were dimmed, the curtains drawn and music hummed softly throughout the air, something she had missed. There was a table in the centre of the room, a chair set out at each end, and a rose in a vase in the centre. It was subtle, simple, but it still got to her. If there was one thing Gerard rarely was it was mushy or overtly romantic.

Gerard smiled. “I can’t take all of the credit, Ella and Eloisa had their input and your madre did most of the decorating, but I wanted to make an effort” he enthused.

“Why?” Esmé squeaked, her feet taking a couple of tentative steps into the room.

“Because I wanted to see you” Gerard noted “And because I want to talk to you” he added.

“Gerard…”

“I went to London” the defender interrupted, denying her the chance to tell him that it was no use.

Esmé’s mouth closed and opened a couple of times, her forehead furrowed.

“I went to see him, to talk to him, and I realized that it was me that was the problem” he noted, taking a couple of steps towards her “Esmé, I got too concerned with him, with what he could do to us that I didn’t exactly see what I was doing to us. I didn’t see you, at times in the last 7 months, all I saw was him and what he could do, and I wanted to apologize for that. I am not the best at this, as you can tell, and I should have done better” he rambled softly.

“You went to London?” Esmé posed, her forehead still crumpled in confusion.

“Yes” Gerard replied simply.

“That’s where you’ve been the past few days?” Esmé questioned.

“Yes” Gerard repeated.

“You’re serious?” she pressed.

Gerard let out a little laugh. “Why is that so hard for you to grasp?” he teased “You said that I would feel better if I got closure and so, when you called us off, I boarded the first flight to London so that I could get it. It was a less than pleasant experience, especially since it was him that pointed out that I was worrying over nothing and had fucked us up myself, but I did it” he explained.

Esmé shook her head. “You said you didn’t want to do it” she babbled, a little overawed by the gesture.

Gerard nodded, scratching his chin gently. “That was before there was a real threat of losing you” he reasoned gently “Esmé, the last thing I want to do is mess this up over him” he added.

Esmé stared at him for a few moments, her mind whirring with thoughts.

“You know, you have the most adorable thinking face” Gerard teased, trying to break the silence around them. He knew that it was a big gesture, he’d been dead set against seeing Cesc only days previous, but he found the silence a little unnerving. Part of him worried that the longer she was silent, the more likely she was to say that nothing had changed.

“You actually did it” Esmé whispered.

“For you” Gerard replied, stepping towards her “Nena, you ought to know by now that I’d do anything to make you smile” he added.

“But…”

“No” Gerard interjected, placing his hand over her mouth “No buts, no excuses. Esmé, I love you and I want to make an effort to do this with you” he insisted, placing a light kiss on her forehead. Esmé’s cheeks warmed a little before she lifted her hand, gently prizing his away from her mouth.

“I am sorry” she whispered.

Gerard shook his head. “No ‘sorry’ either” he mumbled “We both messed up” he added.

Esmé nodded her head gently before she moved onto her toes, her arms softly wrapping his neck.

Gerard placed his arms around her waist and held her close, wordlessly promising that from that moment onwards, he was going to do better and they were going to do better.